Lifted
by cookiecherrypie
Summary: Shailene hasn't said I love you in over 3 years. Cute new guy Tyler comes into her life and begins helping her but, he has some issues of his own. Does she ruin her chance just to feel normal? Zac, her haunting ex, comes back into her life after leaving years ago. Will she love and trust him again? Who will she choose? Does she ever say I love you again?
1. Prologue - Never Love

I pushed the movie into the DVD player, I felt bad about not telling Blair. I should have told her before but tonight I was going to tell her the truth.

My mum called form down stairs "Shay, Blair's here to watch the movie with you" Mum's voice sounds tight.

"Okay send her up!" I call back, even though Blair's welcome at our house anytime. She's been mad at me lately because she knows I'm hiding a secret from her. She knows me better than anyone and although I thought that she over reacted a little because it's not something to be mad about, she's still my best friend and she deserves to know.

Blair walks up and stops in my doorway, "I'm not going to watch a movie with you until you tell me what you're hiding." She looks at me sympathetically, "I'm not mad at you, you can tell me anything"

I sigh in relief, "It's not that bad really, I don't know why you got mad" Blair walks into the room more, her shoulders loosening.

"Just tell me already" She laughs a little.

"I had sex" There's no reaction from her, she's just calm.

"It was bound to happen sometime, you're sixteen." I nod my head slowly. "My only question is, who with? You don't have a boyfriend you're not telling me about do you?" She tries to make it a joke but it stings.

"Ah no, you know that guy that I was with a few years ago?" Blair sits on my bed with me,

"Yeah the one you were with every night and swearing you were friends." My lips twitch

"It was him..." She jumps up.

"I told you, you guys were going to end up having sex at some point. Hasn't he taken like four girls virginity, not including you?" My shoulders slump at the memory of the happiest times of my life.

"Can we not talk about Zac and me? It's not like he's going to come back" My chest hurts. Blair sits down with me again.

"I've heard that before..."she bumps me on the shoulder, "What are we watching?"

"I don't know, it's a blank disc" I press play and we laugh as American Pie Beta House comes on.

"Oooh the mystery ends up being sexy!"

After the movie Blair goes to her car and comes back with a bag full of her clothes for the night.

"Why would you have a bag of stuff if you weren't planning on staying?" She giggles, "That's creepy" I say in my funny voice so I exaggerate the 'creepy.'

"I was never mad at you, I just know how to get you to spill your guts" I nod my head slowly. Blair lies down on my bed and starts watching my TV. I start to think about Zac.

Back when we were dating, which ended when I was 15, we were on and off for four years before that happened and he kept coming back. When I was 14 I made a promise to him that I would give him my virginity, even if we would separate again. Well I kept my promise, but does that mean he would come back again!?

I'm never going to be able to get over him if he keeps coming back. I'm still not. I huff and Blair looks at me, "What're you thinking about?"

"Zac, stuff, how annoying he is..." I drag off at the end of the sentence. She laughs and sits up so she can listen more. "I promised I would give him my virginity two years ago and well, I have." I look at her pleadingly, "What if he comes back again?"

She holds my shoulders a way someone encouraging would, "He may come back, and he may not. But you can get through this" She lets go of my shoulders and I can't help but laugh.

"It's funny when you put on your big voice" We settle down for the night and I have my usual nightmare, I wake up once or twice in the night covered in sweat. Surprisingly Blair sleeps through it, which I've become used to.


	2. Chapter 1 - New And Improved

8 months later

My mop of brown hair tactfully covers my face as I walk my school hallways with Blair beside me. I became really shy once I was in year 11, everybody hated my creative and loud version of me so well if I stripped that away all that was left was my insecurities.

Blair nudges me, "There's the new guy" I nod my head when I realise she means he is coming to me. Everyone is talking about how cute he is and I guess he kind of is, his brown hair is flicked back out of his face to show his hazel eyes.

I look up from the floor slightly to prepare for a conversation. Blair keeps walking to her locker and I internally yell at her.

"Sorry to disappoint you" he flashes a charming grin and I see Brooke, head bitch and slut of the school scowl at me, probably for talking to him. "My name's Tyler, I seem to be lost" He looks around at everybody as he states the fact.

"Hi I'm Shay" I mumble,

"Well hello Shay, Can you point me to where English with Mrs Semons is?" I look up a little more but stay quiet.

"I actually have that class now" and turn on my heel, knowing Tyler will follow me.

He rushes to keep up with me and I stop at the door with the black numbers 24 printed on it. Tyler opens it and steps aside,

"After you," my lips twitch into a small smile as I walk into the class room. I keep an eye on Tyler and see him laugh as he closes the door.

The only part about Mrs Semons class is that it isn't with Blair; otherwise Mrs Semons was really nice to me.

I sit in my usual seat, followed by Tyler next to me. I look at him incredulously; he smiles and shakes his head.

"What?" I ask curious,

"You." I don't like where this is going.

"What about me?" Tyler looks at me intently,

"Do you know why people are shy?" I shake my head; "Because they are hiding this wonderful person that was never given a chance" I look away from his flattering words.

"You've only just met me" Mrs Semons walks into class, so Tyler whispers.

"You can tell a lot about a person within the first minutes of meeting them" It sounded like poetry coming from his mouth.

I try to focus for the rest of the lesson, but his words keep coming back to me.

When class is over I grab my book and head to my locker to meet up with Blair so we can go home.

When I reach my locker Blair has already gotten her bag and is waiting for me. I unlock my locker and start piling my homework into my bag, including my English.

"So..." I close my locker and smile at her,

"He's nice" We walk to Blair's car and make our way to my house. When she drops me off I say goodbye to her and promise to call her.

"Hi mum!" Mum walks out of the kitchen with her eyebrows raised.

"Why are you so happy dear?" I smile and run up the stairs to my room.

"Am I not allowed to be happy Mum?" I hear her laugh from down stairs.

"Of course you are dear." I lay out my books on my desk.

A piece of paper flies from my book to my floor. I pick it up and look at the scrawled words and digits.

Tyler's number: 0433841214

"That little bastard" I smile as I whisper and put the paper in the bin and start my homework.

I'm nearly finished with my homework and my phone starts ringing, blocked caller. I answer expecting it to be some telemarketer.

"Hello?" My voice is tight and shy,

"The slut speaks!" I know who's voice it is straight away, Brooke.

"What do you want?" I'm defensive,

"I just want you to know to keep your filthy hands off Tyler, I'm sure he doesn't want to catch any STD's" I scoff,

"Well if I'm the slut then how come you have the ditsy minions that are smarter then you?" I can hear Brooke's anger from the other side of the line.

"Listen here you bitch, no one likes you and Tyler is just pitying you. You're better off in the ground then wasting air here, we all know you think it too so don't deny it." A single tear rolls down my cheek and I sniffle. "What a stupid whore, crying over yourself. So selfish!" A small break, "If you don't keep your hands off Tyler I will personally make you never want to come to school. Goodbye Shailene." the line goes dead. My barriers break, after my personality change I noticed that I cried a lot more, but that doesn't mean I stopped hating it.

I lie on my bed for a while, just letting her words sink in. They hurt even if they aren't true. I'd had sex once and that was fulfilling my promise to Zac, I'd never seen him again after that night.

I turn on my radio and listen to it in silence. Some One Direction song comes on and I automatically turn it off. I get up and rummage through my bin; I push the buttons on my screen and hear the dial tone.

I nearly give up on the final tone when he picks up. "You really think I'm wonderful?" I sniffle and I can almost hear Tyler's grin.

"Hello Shay and I never caught your last name" I laugh through my tears,

"Shailene Woodley,"

"A very suitable name Shailene Woodley and yes I do believe you are wonderful." I sniffle again and try to breathe through this tightening feeling growing in my chest

"Thank you Tyler." The line is quiet for a while then,

"You're welcome Shay," I don't reply, I feel this thing in my chest pulling me into the conversation. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to call, what changed your mind and so upset?" My sniffling has stopped so I don't sound like I've been crying anymore thankfully.

"A call from Brooke, she seems to like you a lot" Tyler laughs charmingly,

"Yeah she is really... persistent and... pushy" He's laughing so hard I can barely make out the words. I join in with him. "But I'd never be with a girl like her; she's secretly really rude and mean. Did you know that?" I scowl at the memory.

"I'm probably the person that knows that the most, but she seems pretty insistent on sleeping with you..." I don't know if this was a touchy subject like me so I tread carefully.

"If she must know Shay I have only slept with two girls and both were... complicated arrangements" My curiosity peaked,

"You know this is our second conversation and you are already telling me about your sex life?" we laugh together.

"I can tell when there is a true friend." I sit up,

"You sound like a very analytic person, I was like that once..." the line goes quiet as I trail off.

"Why aren't you like that anymore?" My eyebrows rise at the memories.

"Personality change," I hear ruffling on the other side,

"I knew it!" Tyler nearly yells, I quickly interject.

"Can we talk about something else please?" Tyler sounds puzzled,

"Sure, so since I shared my love life with you, tell me how many guys you've slept with?" I laugh at the thought.

"It's really simple, I promised him I would give him my virginity and I did. That's all." I think he hangs up but he says the most bizarre thing.

"I think we should have this conversation face to face. Can I come to yours tonight?"I laugh,

"We've only just met" He laughs charmingly again,

"And yet we are completely comfortable with each other." I text him my address quickly.

"Hurry up." I hear the phone beep with my text.

"Goodbye Shay"

"Goodbye Tyler" I strain the words out.

I run down the stairs,

"Mum we have a guest that I met at school today!" I meet her in the lounge room.

"Sure sweetie what's their name?" I pause, what if mum won't let a guy sleep with me?

"His name is Tyler" My mum nods slowly,

"Sure Hun as long as you're careful. I know you're getting older but I really don't think this is the time in your life to be making-"

"It's okay mum, I get it"

Just then the door knocks. I internally scold her and tell her not to bring this up again. I think she gets the message.

I open the door and see Tyler smiling goofily.

"Do your parents always let random people come to your house?" I laugh as my mum retreats to her room.

"Oh yeah totally, I let complete strangers sleep with me all the time" Tyler wiggles his eyebrows suggestively; I narrow my gaze and look at the floor shyly. "Not what I meant." I walk up the stairs not bothering to see if Tyler follows me.


	3. Chapter 2 - Confessions

We're laughing on my bed; I can't even remember what over. Tyler looks at me seriously,

"So what's the story with this guy you slept with?" My mouth nearly drops,

"There is no story, it was a promise" I try to cast it away but the words flare in my heart.

"You don't look like it was nothing..." Tingles start all over my shoulders and neck, memories.

"Well, I promised him a few years ago I would give him my virginity and I did just that. I never saw him again, for a while I was scared that he would come back again. He was the first guy I loved and, I've never loved anyone since." I shrug my shoulders but Tyler is unconvinced.

"Why haven't you loved anyone?" I think about it for a few seconds, looking deep into Tyler's hazel eyes.

"I guess no one's really given me a chance" This emotional territory is getting to me and I'm slowly backing away from Tyler but he realises and grabs my hand. I look into his eyes again, searching for any insincere emotion.

"Just because no one loves you in that moment, doesn't mean you're never going to be loved" I stifle a gasp, his words were something else. I've never heard anything like it.

He does this weird thing that makes me never want to be shy again and forget the personality changes. When I'm with him I'm just... me, no improved personality. He makes me want to be like that.

I'm quiet for a moment, I'm very aware of his hand on mine but I can't meet his eyes. Then I look up,

"How do you do that?" I'm barely whispering, Tyler looks at me confused.

"How do you say exactly what I'm thinking but make it sound so much better?" His lips twitch.

"My mind has stretched the boundaries of reality; it's kind of like reading minds but reading body language on a deep level. Noticing your habits and what you do when you feel certain things." I move my hand slightly and Tyler quickly grabs my wrist, "Why do you keep doing that?" He swirls his thumb into my wrist,

"Like I said, no one's given me a chance. So why would I give myself a chance? To be loved that is." That catches Tyler by surprise, sort of.

His hand climbs to my shoulder, he reaches to my ear and whispers. "I know" It looks like he's about to kiss me, I prepare myself but stay still. My eyes are still open but fluttering closed, then he smirks and sits up. "This isn't going to happen until you learn to love yourself" I scoff and throw pillow at him. We're both laughing,

"What the hell Tyler!" I'm laughing so hard.

"Don't worry I'm going to teach you" He sounds really egotistical and childish.

"That's scary and cheesy" Tyler smirks,

"How?" I walk over to him,

"I'm going to teach you how to love" I try mimicking him and fail. Tyler laughs at me,

"I do not talk like that" I hear a knock at the door, my mum walks in and smiles.

"Sweetie, just keep it down okay? Order some pizza for dinner if you want" I nod my head and mouth an 'okay.'

I grab another piece of cheese pizza. "How many of those have you had?"Tyler looks at me expectantly; I look down at the pizza and contemplate the answer.

"About four," More than half of the pizza was gone, which was good because it means that we will finish it. Turns out we both love cheese pizza.

"Geez I only ever eat three or four pieces, but I think you need to face it" I look at him as I lick my lips,

"Face what? Hmm," I burst into laughter,

"You're a pig" Tyler smirks as I scoff.

"Shut up" I poke my tongue at him and shuffle away. I find it weird that I'm not my usual shy self, and I've changed personalities so quickly but it's all because of Tyler.

I have the strange urge to lean over and quickly kiss him on the cheek. Instead I glow crimson and look down.

"You're beautiful," My eyes flutter to his quickly and go back down.

"I thought you said I was wonderful." I try to laugh to get rid of some of the awkwardness, it doesn't work.

"Beautiful too, you can do a lot with that combination" I scoff,

"I was always told that beauty won't get you far in life," I mumble, my shyness comes back. There's a pause and I sit there playing with my thumbs.

"Why do you do that?" it's not an insult, he says it softly. "Why do you look really strong and then just as you get into deep thought you go really shy" If only he knew...

"That's just how I am I guess" Tyler pauses, thinking about something. Then looks at my clock,

"It's late, we shouldn't keep your mother up any longer" He lies under my black doona and I do the same. I look at my clock, midnight... "What's his name? The guy you slept with" Tyler asks, I try to mumble through my sleepy haze.

"Zac" his name burns in my mind.

I soon drift off.

I shake off my nightmare half way through the night, a thin layer of sweat covering me. I prepare for loneliness to fill me and then I feel a shift around me.

I reach down to my waist and feel Tyler's arm wrapped around me. I smile and fall back to sleep.

I have the best sleep I've ever had, no night mares.


End file.
